but if they get a bounce in the polls, it will defy recent history. in the past two election cycles neither went up more than 2% after the conventions. dana bash, cnn, washington. >> we have had such a busy morning here at cnn. cnn newsroom continues now. >> passing the baton to us now. thank you so much. have a great day. just a few hours ago, mitt romney ended all speculation about his vice presidential pick by revealing his choice. you know it by now. paul ryan of wisconsin. romney made that announcement at a rally on the u.s.s. congress. >> he's become a leader in the republican party. he understands the fiscal challenges facing america, our

exploding definite silts and crushing debt and the disaster that awaits us if we don't change course. he combines a profound sense of responsibility for what we owe the next generation with an unbounded optimism in america's future and understanding of all the wonderful things the american people can do. >> i worked closely with republicans as well as democrats to advance an agenda of economic growth and job creation. i'm proud to stand with a man who understands what it takes to foster job creation in our economy. someone who knows from experience that if you have a small business, you did build that. >> after that rally, ryan and romney boarded their bus and headed to ashland, virginia, for an afternoon rally. as cnn's political reporter jim acosta arrives, he joins us by

phone. what does the romney camp think he will bring to the ticket? >> reporter: i just got an e-mail from a senior romney advisor, fredricka, who e-mailed me some guidance as to what the thinking was for mitt romney in making that vice presidential pick. obviously, there is some controversy. there will be questions about the proposals that paul ryan made when he was budget committee chairman. and this advisor tells me, quote, a vision of the country on the economy and on spending was an important consideration going on saying this was an important decision on how romney plans to govern as president. i think what they wanted to do is make a bold pick. they wanted to send the message to conservatives, where turn out will be seekey on election day, they wanted to make sure to get

conservatives to the polls. this pick to some degree helps them do that. we are in sort of bumper to bumper traffic trying to make our way up interstate 95 now. we've been trailing the romney bus. it's a few buss ahead of us. to give you some color of what's been happening, we talked about what paul ryan brings to the ticket, but also we should talk about that washington word that everybody hates is the optics. paul ryan who is young father, 42 years old, with small children. the children were all riding on this bus together. and at one point in virginia, mitt romney showed the kids how to make his favorite peanut butter and honey sandwich. therwas lighmome. e kids we ing bus surfg onhebus, which'm not su hav gten aonrati

of how that works. aprent they were doing some bus surfing as well. especially at those events. and so i think the country is also getting a sense and a look at the old and new in the republican party. mitt romney sort of represents where the party is right now, but paul ryan very much is where is party is going. so i think you have that ying and yang. >> they are on the bus now heading to ashland, virginia, and then on to north carolina, florida, and the other swing state of ohio. so where does congressman paul ryan stand on the important issues of the day? he's most known for his conservative budget principles. in july 2009 he proposed the road map for america's future. an economic plan that would end medicare as we know it and privatize social security. first he got pushback from his

own party because republicans worried it would scare away senior voters. newt gingrich even called it, quote, a right-wing social engineering. but he's become the darling of tea party supporters on abortion. ryan, a catholic, voted to ban federal health coverage of abortion. on economics, he's a leading gop voice against the obama administration. he voted no on the president's stimulus plan. and ryan took on the white house over the affordable care act and wants to repeal the affordable care act. and on guns, he is backed by the nra. ryan voted to decrease the gun-buying waiting period from three days to one. and on privacy, ryan voted to allow electronic sueillance of americans without a warrant. and on defense, he voted to send america to war in iraq and voted against ending the war in afghanistan. so although he's enjoyed seven

terms in the house of representatives, many americans aren't sure who paul ryan is. according to a new poll, 54% of americans say they don't know enough about the wisconsin congressman to form an opinion. 27% view him favorably. 19% don't like him. john king takes a look at the political career of romney's vice presidential pick. >> we want to give you that skap pal. >> reporter: for paul ryan, debating joe biden -- >> why not start freezing spending now and would you support helping us getting a vote on it in the house? >> let me respond to the two specific questions, but i want to just push back a little bit on the underlying premise about us increasing spending by 84%. >> the discretionary spending, the bills that congress signed into law, that has increased 84%. >> we'll have a longer debate on

the budget numbers then. all right? >> reporter: ryan is the gop's numbers guy. he isn't afraid to say, in his view, the only way back to fiscal sanity is to shrink government and fundamentally change medicare. >> if you don't address these issues now, they are going to steam roll us as a country. the issue is the more you delay fixing these problems, the much uglier the solutions are going to have to be. >> reporter: in short, he's a lightning rod. >> it would be a risky choice. it's hard for me to see e mitt romney, who has played it safe, making that kind of gamble. >> reporter: there are upsides. it would energize the gop base. ryan is an energetic debater and at just 42, he would add youth to the ticket. mark green says ryan would help romney in wisconsin and across the midwest. >> i think he does get wisconsin, but more importantly, he gets that sort of blue-collar

conservatism that is the heart of the republican party. >> reporter: but tapping ryan is a big gamble because of the house gop budget that bares his name. up to now, romney has done everything to make this campaign a referendum on the incumbent. >> the president's policies are not creating jobs. >> ryan planned to end medicare as we know it, must be taken off the table. >> reporter: other down sides, ryan has never run statewide. he has no foreign policy experience and some will question whether a 42-year-old house member is ready to be commander in chief. >> one of the stars of the republican future over the next 10 to 20 years, whether he's ready at this moment, only the campaign trail could tell. he's going to get -- he's going to take a beating. >> reporter: family history makes him a fitness fanatic, leading them in cross country

workouts. >> my relatives died of heart attacks. >> and an avid hunt er. >> i got this response saying i'm sitting in a deer stand. it's hunting season. leave me alone. >> reporter: he's a self-described nerd, but don't underestimate ryan's ambition or competitive streak. if he had his druthers, he'd rather debate the president. >> i love the idea of barack obama. i love we have elected an african-american man as a president. i think that's a cool thing. i don't like the idea it's coming from barack obama. >> governor mitt romney, hopefully the next president of the united states of america. >> that was john king reporting. among republicans, 49% like paul ryan and 45% say they don't know enough about him. as romney announces his running mate, president obama heads home. birthday celebrations are on tap

this weekend and so are a series of fundraisers. the mark key event carries a ticket price of $40,000 per person. mitt romney and paul ryan, the republicans are off and running we'll talk about what's next for this duo. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ every mom needs a little helper. that's why i got a subaru. announcer: love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. but they haven't experienced extra strength bayer advanced aspirin. in fact, in a recent survey, 95% of people who tried it agreed that it relieved their headache fast. visit fastreliefchallenge.com today for a special trial offer.

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mitt romney and paul ryan are wasting no time hit pg the campaign trail together. after making his choice known in a speech from congress ryan, the two set off a bus tour. joining us to talk about this is anchor candy crow lee. for example, many made criticisms of mitt romney being out of touch or he's only looking out for the wealthy and not the middle class. does paul ryan help address any of those things? >> not if the democrats can help it. particularly on score of helping

the middle class. i think this is clearly a choice that totally excites the republican base. we said this repeatedly. they think that paul ryan is, you know, putting out this budget. it was his budget that they passed in the house. conservatives love him. they do not necessarily -- they don't love mitt romney. they don't necessarily trust him so this was a huge, huge pick in terms of just activating the base, which really is kind of the first thing you have to do before you can even consider how you turn that into an election victory in november. >> so i wonder, you talked about it's exciting the republican base. at the same time, there's many in the republican party who felt division about paul ryan saying he was too conservative. that v they changed their mind about him now? >> i don't think you're going to hear that publically.

i do think to a certain extent, the 2010 elections were some kind of vindication for at least the direction that paul ryan was talking about. he's widely recognized certainly as a top republican rising star. so i think what you're going to see here is yes, there's unease. there's unease from the republicans saying it's such a big target. paul ryan is such a big target. and mitt romney now in a full embrace of ryan's ideas or at least the direction of those ideas. there are republicans who worry that this just gives democrats another target. >> we have a lot of ryans in this one. so let me ask you. something you wrote in the new yorker where you're reminding us that paul ryan was just 28 years old when he was elected to the house of representatives. like many young conservatives he said he was embarrassed by some of the bush administration years and some of the decisions made.

so i wonder now, you know, when he says he wants to help the nation get back on track, is he talking about recovery post-bush years or is he talking about the obama years? >> look, he said he was miserable under the last republican majority, under the bush years because he felt like he was forced to take some votes that he now says he regrets like medicare part d and tarp. although he hasn't actually reversed him on tarp. but he felt they spent too much money and that's what's driving him now. to get back to what you were talking about with candy, the ryan budget is an untested proposition. he first proposed the bulk of these ideas on medicaid and some of the discretionary spending cuts in 2008. his first plan attracted eight republican co-sponsors. he comes back in 2009, boehner

and the other republican leaders say, no, no, paul ryan, we don't want to do that. that's too crazy. in 2010 he doesn't get the house republicans to run on those budget ideas. boehner and the campaign consultants say no way. it's only once that new republican class comes in in 2011 that he has these 87 tea party freshmen who become his base in the house of representatives. he convinces those guys, you know what, we're going to go big and bold and we're going to go with this new budget. they pass it in 2011. so we haven't had an election in between the period when the republican party embraced paul ryanism and today. so romney is testing this. >> i wonder, following up on that, it's been no secret that the party has not been ales coalescing around mitt romney. i wonder, candy, is this going

to make a big difference for mitt romney? >> there were signs that the party was beginning to coalesce around mitt romney. in some sense, you can look at this choice as a way to measure how mitt romney is now currently viewing this race. we started out and we all said what barack obama wants to do is make this a choice election. you can either go his way or mine. when mitt romney started out, he wanted to make this a referendum on barack obama's economy. it seems to me by picking a man known for his big ideas and bold new changes that romney has now embraced the fact that this is going -- that he will go with the ideas, with the choice. now whether the bulk of voters will go with that is what we clearly don't know. but i do think that it wasn't so much that they weren't coalescing is they weren't that excited and you have to get folks excited.

>> thanks to both of you. appreciate it. appreciate that. we're also watching other news this morning. hillary clinton is in turkey talking syria. we'll tell you who she is meeting with and what's on the table.

now to other news we're following today. in syria government tanks, troops and military jets attacked a rebel area in aleppo. activists are saying they need more arms and ammunition and asking for international help. and u.s. secretary of state

hillary clinton is in turkey discussing the crisis on syria. she's been meeting with turkish leaders today. >> i came away very impressed by these young activists and very committed to increasing the assistance we are already providing several of those present has already received support from the united states. as you know, we are providing nonlethal aid, mostly communications, to civil society and activists. >> mean while at least 35 people have been killed around the c p country today. on fake you can click the "like" button but should it be protected as free speech. our legal guys are going to share a lesson or two on free speech. like it or not.

after this. ah ok, move my 4 o'clock today to tomorrow. change my 11am to 2. [siri] ok marty, i scheduled it for today. is that rick? where's rick? [siri] here's rick. oh, no that's not rick. now, how's the traffic headed downtown? [siri] here's the traffic. ah, it's terrible, terrible! driver, driver! cut across, cut across, we'll never make it downtown this way. i like you siri, you're going places. [siri] i'll try to remember that.

facebook's "like" button is at the center of a free speech argument. a sheriff says he was fired for "liking" the page of his boss's opponent. he sued, but a federal judge tossed that out. he's now appealed and facebook and aclu have also join ed in.

let's bring in a civil rights attorney and richard herman, a new york criminal defense attorney joining us from las vegas. good to see you. okay. now we're talking about free speech arguments. they are really getting a run for their money these days. we have a lot of cases that are using that as the real starting point of whether indeed a case is legitimate or not. this one involving "liking" someone on facebook. this employee "liked" the page of an opponent of his boss. he gets fired. so avery, is this an issue of a protection of free speech? can he be fired for a choice like that? >> that's the ultimate issue. i think it's constitutional cutting edge. it's a wonderful case. the deputies lost in the trial court for one reason. not that the "like" button

wasn't constitutionally protected, but rather whether the deputy said something of public concern, a matter of public concern. the federal judge says it might be protected, but because there was no expression of public concern, the federal judge took the case away from the jury and now the case is pending in front of a three-judge panel in virginia. so they have to ultimately answer that question. >> so was part of that "liking" undermined the job or the duty of this elected official, this sheriff in town? and this is far more egregious than liking somebody else. >> they made an argument that it also disrupted the workplace. and i think the court weighed heavily on that argument as well. but with the social media sites going around these days, courts are getting flooded with cases

like this and whether or not a simple expression of a thumbs up or a thumbs down is akin to someone standing on a street corner and saying i like this opponent. this opponent is better than this person. it doesn't equal that. that's what the courses will struggle with over time. i don't think a simple thumbs up or down is entitled to constitutional protection, but we'll see how the court rules. >> so this could potentially impact other social media or messages, twitter, for example, might it, avery? >> it could. one of the great misunderstandings about the first amendment is that this protection, free speech, only applies to a restriction on public employers. that is on the public. many people think that s most people are employed by private sector, that they are protected. believe it or not, they are not. so while the issue is a, you know, very important one, cutting edge, what we e don't

know the answer to is if just hitting the button is covered by the first amendment, the court of appeals will be answering that. frankly, i think it is covered. as soon as you hit like, it means you supported someone and believe in that person and that's why the deputies were fired. >> most people understand title ix must be extended to men and women. in this case, it said it has competitive cheerleading and they believe it's a title ix sport, but there's an argument that cheerleading is not a title ix support so they have not levelled the playing field, so to speak, richard. >> the court got this one wrong. the type of cheerleading we're talking about here is not the pom pom cheerleaders. we're talking about competition, competitive cheer leading and national competitions that sometimes you've seen on

television. these athletes and i'm calling them athletes really have to be in tremendous shape, tremendous physical exertion and to rule this as not a varsity sport or a sport i think is ridiculous. to say that volleyball is better than this, therefore, volleyball stands and this cheerleading is not a sport, the court got it wrong. and i think the university is going to suffer on this one. >> avery, we're looking at the video. you see the athleticism involved there. is this an issue of the interpretation of what is considered an athletic program or not? didn't i think that many years ago it had already been determined that this type of cheerleading is indeed a sport. these are athletes. what's different here? >> no court has ever held that cheerleading is a sport for purposes of title ix. you know what, this panel got it absolutely right. they said the university basically fudged figures and said one day, and this is

important, one day cheerleading will have rules and organizations and it may very well be a sport. but for purposes of where the law is in 2012, cheerleading is not a sport for purposes of complying with gender equity and i think the court got it exactly right. >> interesting. all right. avery, richard, always good to see you. we don't have time for a second segment with you. it was a one-hit wonder. you knock ed it out of the park. >> great pictures of you and your dad in the olympics. put those on facebook. >> thanks so much. we're going to talk later on today about that journey and just the whole encompassing experience. it was a great family affair. appreciate it. see you next weekend. back to politics now. there's a lot to talk about. mitt romney picking paul ryan as his running mate today. he will be explaining why ryan is the best choice after this.

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mate. he announced paul ryan is the vp pick. here's his speech from early this morning. >> today we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of america. as we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead te nation to better days it's an honor to announce my running mate paul ryan.

his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character shapely in large part by his early life. paul's father died when he was in high school. that forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should, but paul did with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister, and a supportive community. and as he did, he internalized. he works in washington, but his believes remain firmly rooted in jamesville, wisconsin. he's a person of great steadiness whose integrity is unquestioned and his word is good. paul's upbringing is obvious in how he's conducted himself throughout his life including his leadership in washington.

in a city that's far too often characterized by pettiness and personal attacks, paul ryan is a shining exception. he understands that honorable people can have honest differences and he appeals to the better angels of our nature. a lot of people in the other party who might disagree with paul ryan. i don't know anyone who doesn't respect his character and judgment. [ applause ] paul is in public life for all the right reasons. not to advance his personal ambition, but to advance the ideals of freedom and justice to increase prosperity to people of every class and faith, every age and ethnic background. a faithful catholic, paul

believes the worth and dignity of every human life. [ applause ] with energy and vision, paul ryan has become an intellectual leader of the republican party. he understands the fiscal challenges facing america, our exploding deficits and crushing debt and the fiscal catastrophe that awaits us if we don't change course. he has a sense of responsibility for what we owe the next generation with an unbounded optimism in america's future and understanding of all the wonderful things the american people can do. paul also combines firm principles with a practical concern for getting things done. he's never been content to simply curse the darkness. he'd e rather light candles. and throughout his legislative career he's shown the ability to

work with members of both parties to find common ground on some of the hardest issues confronting the american people. so paul and i are beginning on a journey that will take us to every corner of america. we're offering a positive, governing agenda that will lead to economic growth, to widespread and shared prosperity and will improve the lives of our fellow citizens. join me in welcoming the next president of the united states, paul ryan. >> well he didn't necessarily mean it as it was said. romney referring to him as the next president. he did correct himself and did say choosing paul ryan as his running mate. hopefully the next vice president instead in his words. in a moment you'll hear from paul ryan what he plans to do along with mitt romney. male spirit present.trong

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in may paul ryan was coy about being the running mate for mitt romney. today ryan was definitive. >> i am deeply honored and excited to join you as your running mate. [ applause ] i want to tell you about mitt romney. mitt romney is a leader with the skills, background and character that our country needs at this crucial ti

following four years after failed leadership, the hopes of our country that have inspired the world are growing dim. they need someone to revive them. governor romney is the man for this moment. [ applause ] and he and i share one commitment. we will restore the greatness of this country. [ applause ] i want you to meet my family. this is my wife jana. our daughter liza and our sons charlie and sam. [ applause ] i'm surrounded by the people i

love. i love you too. and i've been asked by governor romney to serve the country that i love. [ applause ] i never really left the place i was raised. it's our home now. for the last 14 years, i proudly represented wisconsin in congress. there i have focused on solving the problems that confront our country, turning ideas into action and action into solutions. i am committed in heart and mind to putting that experience to work in a romney administration. >> ryan and romney are now on their first official road trip, a four-state bus tour through the swing states. the potential advantages of

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republicans and democrats are reacting to today's a big announcement from mitt romney. congressman paul ryan of wisconsin is romney's pick. eric ericson is here, he's a cnn contributor. with ryan on the ticket, does that greatly influence what has traditionally been a blue state

of wisconsin, turning it red? >> it could. paul ryan won his congressional district as did barack obama. will it really make a difference in wisconsin? i'm not sure it makes a huge difference. i don't know that vice presidents make a big difference. >> even though people say this might be the most important decision that a presidential candidate makes is the picking of a running mate? >> it goes towards more is he ready and competent. it used to be presidents picked up vice presidents to swing states, but now it goes more towards policy ideals. he wants to woo states. when you dig into the polling, they are concerned about the national debt. a lot of people don't like paul ryan's plan, but he's willing to admit as he said this morning that both democrats and republicans have been to blame.

when you have a vice presidential bid saying it was us as well, that sends a good message. >> how does this pick round out or even compliment mitt romney? >> you know, i think paul ryan did a more articulate job of selling mitt romney than mitt romney has done the last three months. >> of selling himself? >> of selling himself. the romney campaign had a hard time trying to address his success and free markets and defending it. ryan is an articulate spokesman and gives romney ammunition for something he's not very articulate on. >> so perhaps you can see over the next couple months that maybe this might help crystallize a campaign for romney. >> the danger here for republicans is it hadn't been a referendum on obama. republicans can say they have had three years and done nothing. the democrats can say we have a

lot of specifics in paul ryan's plan. we run campaigns every two years now about medicare. >> let's talk about those demerits. seniors are concerned. there are going to be a lot of women voters who will say i'm concerned. he's very pro-life and he is also alienated another significant segment of the elect rat saying he doesn't support same-sex marriages. >> the president's campaign is running these demographics i don't think women are going to look at this saying i can't vote for him. gay rights, i don't think that's a big issue. where it is a big issue is florida. senior citizens. the obama campaign was running commercials with a paul ryan look alike shoving a grandmother over a cliff.

you have the democratic super pac having mitt romney killing a woman indirectly of cancer. >> they are making their way through swing states. off to north carolina and florida. and ohio. eric, thank you. people are reacting already to the choice of paul ryan. here are some of our eye reporters. [ male announcer ] this is the land of giants. ♪ home of the brave. ♪ it's where fear goes unwelcomed...

♪ and certain men... find a way to rise above. this is the land of giants. ♪ guts. glory. ram. glory. [siri] sirianother busy day today.ke? are you serious? [siri] yes i'm not allowed to be frivolous. ah ok, move my 4 o'clock today to tomorrow. change my 11am to 2. [siri] ok marty, i scheduled it for today. is that rick? where's rick? [siri] here's rick. oh, no that's not rick. now, how's the traffic headed downtown? [siri] here's the traffic. ah, it's terrible, terrible! driver, driver! cut across, cut across, we'll never make it downtown this way. i like you siri, you're going places. [siri] i'll try to remember that.

what do eye reporters think of mitt romney's choice? >> he's very well spoken, very knowledgeable, articulate and e he brings a lot to the table. i think he's going to make an excellent running mate. with him next to romney, my hopes are even higher that romney will win this election. >> with the selection of ryan, we see a choice election. we see an idechoice.

we have a conservative direction. they will get to decide if they want a humane society or the survival of the wealthiest society. >> let us know what you think about mitt romney choosing paul ryan. send your video or text to cnn.com. so what's a nun doing behind bars? bars? how she's changing lives. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

this week cnn hero is from new york. children are growing up with their mothers grows up behind bars. tessa fitsgerald is helping them start new lives. her strategy? love. >> across our nation there are thousands of mothers behind bars. i have never met a woman inside that said, gee, i'm going to go out and really mess up again. the depth of her guilt, what she's done to this child is unbelievable and they want to do everything to make it right. but they are always unsure whether it's really going to work. i'm sister tesa fitsgerald and i work with incarcerated mothers to keep their families together and to rebuild their lives. when women come out of prison, they are so vulnerable. >> what's the hardest part? >> not having money, not having a job, it feels like there's no

way out. >> a home is the heart of what's going to make their life possible. >> so good to see you. how are you? you're back home. >> we give them a lot of love, a lot of support. around her is a community who have seen growth and change. >> once you forgive yourself, it's going to be all right. >> over time, broken bonds have been mended and there can now be a whole neness to their life. >> it's kelli from the mentoring program. >> i was a crack head. i gave birth while i was incarcerated. i didn't know how to change my life. she didn't just save me. she saved my entire family. she made me proud of who i am today. >> it's everyone's right to live the best life they can. when i see that take place with the women i love and work with, that's makes it worthwhile. >> remember all of our heroes come from your nominations. if you have someone you'd like to tell us about, go to cnn.com.

[ male announcer ] this is the land of giants.

♪ home of the brave. ♪ it's where fear goes unwelcomed... ♪ and certain men... find a way to rise above. this is the land of giants. ♪ guts. glory. ram. republican presidential nominee mitt romney holds a rally in virginia with his new running mate paul ryan of wisconsin. he's known as fiscal conservative who's been a critic of president obama's policies of health care reform. coming up later on in the newsroom, my interview with lolo